Food Desserts & Baking 35 Summer Dessert Recipes By Midwest Living editors Midwest Living editors Midwest Living's experienced editors create best-in-class travel, lifestyle, food, home and garden content you won't find anywhere else. We're loudly, proudly Midwestern, and we're passionate about helping our audience explore and create through award-winning storytelling. Midwest Living's Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 16, 2023 Trending Videos Photo: Carson Downing Our recipes for summer sweets offer ideas for ice cream desserts, pies, summer-inspired cakes, fruity bar cookies, shortcakes and more. 01 of 35 Ice Cream Sandwiches Carson Downing These ice cream sandwiches will take you back to hot summer days as a kid. Use a light touch when you assemble them, as the rich cookies are fragile. View Recipe 02 of 35 Eton Mess Carson Downing Summer desserts should be no-bake, no-cook and no-fuss. So here's a classic British dessert for your Midwest summer: a simple strawberry dessert that's a mishmash of berries, whipped cream and meringues. View Recipe 03 of 35 Cherry Clafouti Kim Cornelison Clafouti is a simple French dessert created with fruit covered with a not-too-sweet, custard-like batter. Top Cherry Recipes View Recipe 04 of 35 Peach Upside-Down Cake Carson Downing The family behind Illinois' Rendleman Orchards has amassed some great peach recipes in more than a century of growing peaches. This cake is no exception. Peach slices and brown sugar form a moist base for the tender, square cake—and when flipped over, that base becomes the topping. View Recipe 05 of 35 Summer Cobbler EE Berger Michigan chef Abra Berens, author of Pulp, says this pick-a-fruit summer dessert tastes great with a dollop of sour cream. We totally agree. Easy Cobbler and Crisp Recipes View Recipe 06 of 35 Mojito Bars Carson Downing Jacob Van Patten pours a refreshing summer cocktail into his creative take on lemon bars, which took the overall blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair. Our Best Bar Cookies View Recipe 07 of 35 Hot Fudge Sauce Jacob Fox Chocolate cravings have met their match: In 15 minutes, you can melt six ingredients into the thickest, gooiest ice cream topping. Irresistible Ice Cream Recipes View Recipe 08 of 35 Cherry Brownies a la Mode Carson Downing Traverse City's famous tart cherries get double billing in this sundae—baked in the brownies and spooned on top. But there's another local fruit hiding here. Traverse City Chef Adam Raupp adds a little Riesling to the sauce. Rich, Moist Brownie Recipes View Recipe 09 of 35 S'Mores Squares Jason Donnelly These bars are a grown-up spin on a campfire classic: buttery graham cracker crust, chocolate mousse, toasty meringue. View Recipe 10 of 35 Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Elderflower Cream Carson Downing To "bring the smell of the field" into this dessert, chef Michigan chef James Bloomfield infuses whipping cream with fresh elderflowers. Get the same effect with a splash of St-Germain. Ultimate Cake Recipes View Recipe 11 of 35 Choose-a-Fruit Fools No one knows how fools (a centuries-old blend of whipped cream and fruit) got their playful name. Maybe it's because, with just 4 ingredients, you'd be foolish not to make one! View Recipe 12 of 35 Kiwi Summer Limeade Pie Refreshing and creamy, this make-ahead pie from Susan Meier of Omaha combines tropical flavors with macadamia nuts and kiwifruit. Pie Recipes Perfect for Summer View Recipe 13 of 35 Strawberry "Cool Brûlée" This deceptively good, weeknight-easy dessert has a topping of yogurt and whipped cream with raw sugar that looks like creme brulee, but requires no cooking. View Recipe 14 of 35 Earl Grey Strawberry Shortcakes Carson Downing Tea leaves speckle the shortcakes and infuse the whipped cream, giving this favorite summertime dessert a pinkies-up twist. Throw a Strawberry Party With These Fresh, Fruit-Forward Recipes View Recipe 15 of 35 Gooey Butter Bars Traditionalists may grumble, but we think topping St. Louis-style gooey butter bars with fresh berries is a stroke of midsummer genius. View Recipe 16 of 35 Baby Citrus Cheesecakes These cupcake-size treats are a fantastically simple alternative to a full-size cheesecake. You could also garnish them with fresh raspberries or blueberries. View Recipe 17 of 35 Pint-Size Grasshopper Icebox Cake A fluffy, summery, make-ahead 6-inch dessert with just four ingredients? Sold. 6 Mini Cake Recipes View Recipe 18 of 35 Peaches and Cream Tart Rather than hide gorgeous, peak-season peaches under a piecrust, line them up in sunny formation on an easy base of purchased puff pastry and sweetened cream cheese. Our Best Sweet-and-Juicy Peach Recipes View Recipe 19 of 35 Butterscotch Brickle Pudding Pops Blaine Moats Chopped pecans and toffee bits add delightful crunch to creamy pudding pops. If you don't have plastic freezer-pop molds, use 5-ounce paper cups. Easy Icy Treats View Recipe 20 of 35 S'more Pie a la Marshmallow Crème Cream cheese brings body and richness to so-chocolatey mousse filling. More wow comes from the blend of marshmallow crème and crème de cacao draped over the top. View Recipe 21 of 35 Pink Lemonade Strawberry Shortcake Pink lemonade concentrate gives a summery twist to classic strawberry shortcake. 10 Delicious Shortcake Recipes View Recipe 22 of 35 Peanut Butter Oatmeal Biggies Our chewy, saucer-size cookie is delicious by itself, but for a warm-weather treat, it makes generous ice cream sandwiches when filled with tiny scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream. View Recipe 23 of 35 Mini Peach Melba Ice Cream Cake Crystallized ginger adds unexpected zip to frosty peaches, raspberries and ice cream. View Recipe 24 of 35 Pina Colada Cupcakes Cocktail meets cupcake with the tropical marriage of pineapple preserves, crunchy macaroon bits and toasted coconut. We bet you won't even miss the rum. Delicious Cupcake Recipes View Recipe 25 of 35 Summer Breeze Lime Pie A triple dose of lime-zest, juice and curd-gives this dreamy pie its refreshing flavor. The pretzel crust adds unexpected salty punch. View Recipe 26 of 35 Raspberry Swirl Angel Food Cake A subtle swirl of fresh raspberries infuses this homemade angel food cake with light fruit flavor. Like all angel food cakes, it has no fat or cholesterol. View Recipe 27 of 35 Tropical Ambrosia Shortcake Classic shortcake meets church-basement standard ambrosia salad in this surprising and crowd-pleasing dessert that's packed with tropical fruit flavor. View Recipe 28 of 35 Peanut Butter-Fudge Pie Vanilla ice cream, gooey fudge sauce and peanuts sit on a chewy rice-cereal crust. Trust us, it's out of this world-perfect for potlucks or family dinners. View Recipe 29 of 35 Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Sundaes Blaine Moats Quickly warm pineapple in butter and brown sugar, then spoon the softened fruit over crumbled pound cake and dulce de leche ice cream. View Recipe 30 of 35 S'Mores Squares Jason Donnelly These bars are a grown-up spin on a campfire classic: buttery graham cracker crust, chocolate mousse, toasty meringue. Decadent Chocolate Dessert Recipes View Recipe 31 of 35 Raspberry Cheesecake Bars Layers of cheesecake, raspberry filling, almonds and coconut form dessert bars perfect for summer picnics and potlucks. View Recipe 32 of 35 Blueberry Almond Bars At the Marshall County Fair's annual Blueberry Bake-A-Rama in Plymouth, Indiana, Lori Van Der Weele took home the Grand Champion award with this recipe that combines blueberries, butter, white baking pieces and almonds. Blueberry Recipes You'll Love View Recipe 33 of 35 Root Beer Float Ice Cream Sandwiches Blaine Moats Stirring crushed root beer barrels into sugar-cookie dough adds irresistible sparkle and spot-on float flavor—especially when you add scoops of vanilla ice cream between two cooled cookies. Irresistible Desserts Inspired by Soda Shop Flavors View Recipe 34 of 35 Lemon-Cream Cheese Pie This creamy lemon pie, a longtime reader-favorite recipe, is a signature dessert at Al's Oasis, a family restaurant along the east bank of the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Make Your Best Pie Ever View Recipe 35 of 35 Creamy Peach Yogurt Pie Juicy peach slices mix with peach jam to make an ultra-easy topping for this no-bake yogurt pie. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit